


A Tale of Silence

by Vengeful_Dogs_Of_War



Series: A Tale of Silence [1]
Category: Metal Gear
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-21 07:52:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9538628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vengeful_Dogs_Of_War/pseuds/Vengeful_Dogs_Of_War
Summary: A take on Diamond Dogs solely from the silent sniper's point of view. This will follow the events of the game fairly closely (with a few alterations) and will go post-canon to explore mother base after the events of chapter two. This is meant to explore the relationship between Venom, Quiet, and Diamond Dogs.





	1. Fall from Glory

**Author's Note:**

> Quiet's thoughts are in bold. 
> 
> Hopefully this isn't complete trash, first fanfiction, ever. Any and all constructive feedback is welcome. Un constructive feedback is appreciated and will be used as a pick-me-up. Venom's actions will be based in general on what I did on my playthrough, (trail of sleeping dumpster babies).

The hospital was her next target. Cipher had mobilized at least 5 units for this operation. Several attack helicopters were heading towards the target, their un-marked black shells ghosted across the night sky. Skull Face was taking no chances this mission. Quiet idly sharpened her standard issue combat knife, and the rest of her team ran checks on their gear, adjusting scopes, turning off safeties, testing mics and the like. The helicopter housed space for 10, and each seat was filled. Quiet's lieutenant leaned forward and made the last checks visually, his grizzled face was covered by a black gas mask, his brown eyes made sure everything in the helicopter was in place. 

"You all think you know the drill, but you are about to try and assassinate THE Big Boss, and as far as I'm concerned, that's like trying to kill Jesus. Take no chances. Eliminate everything in that hospital that isn't wearing an XOF badge, and double check everyone who is. Our CO will be leading this op. Report anything and everything to me, and follow her lead. I want to know if you so much as farted, because we are dealing with the sneakiest son-of-a-bitch since ever. The target is trying to use a body-double, and they have succeeded. If either leave this hospital alive, we won't know if we got our man. So kill them both." 

Quiet sheathed her knife as the helicopter hovered over the front, and grabbed a rope and slide down. The wet grass squished as the boots hit the ground. The invasion had begun, and Quiet felt nervous. This felt too easy.  
**In and out. You have every advantage. So stop being nervous and fucking do it.**  
Her team slid down, and took up flanking positions at the front doors, while other teams prepared to breach.  
"This is Ghost 1-infiltrate." She radioed as her team slide opened the doors and moved in, slithering in like snakes.  
Silenced gunfire popped as they cleared the lobby, and began to fan out, securing choke-points and executing anyone they could find. A few went for a telephone, only to find the wires had been cut. Bodies hit the floor as her men quietly cleared each room, each one of Cipher's best agents. Quiet silently walked up towards her target room, wearing a "borrowed" doctor's coat over her XOF uniform.  
**Not one has been an enemy agent. Did they really think that they wouldn't need security with Cipher hunting them? The Tyrant really is arrogant enough to think he is untouchable.**  
She could hear voices as she quietly approached the room with the open door and discarded her coat.  
"...will become phantom."  
**The decoy. Good, they are in the same room. Makes my job easier.**  
She took out her wire, and entered the room. The doctor was holding up pictures to the decoy, oblivious to the massacre sweeping the hospital several floors down. The nurse was nearly behind the curtain, perfect for a silent kill. Holding her wire tightly, she quickly wrapped it around the nurse's throat and crushed it, twisting the nurse over her back to make it quicker.  
**You should have never agreed to be a part of this. Shouldn't have helped this...demon.**  
The nurse's body went limp, and Quiet let her fall. The heart beat monitor started beeping faster.  
**He knows, but he can't even croak a warning.**  
Strutting out like a phantom of death, Quiet got behind the doctor and used the wire to crush his next.  
**And next Big Boss, then his phantom.**  
The doctor reached inside his coat, and Quiet saw him draw a small handgun.  
**That won't work. Just...go...the...fuck...to sleep.**  
She twisted and leveraged him onto her back, and the added pressure caused him to thrash, kicking the decoy off the bed as he struggled briefly, then was still. She silently stalked over towards the next bed.

"Have you finished your mission?" Skull Face radioed.  
"Not yet. The patient in the next bed saw my face." Quiet said, using code to keep Big Boss unaware that she knew who he was.  
"Understood. Give him my regards, quietly." The last word rolled off in a bemused manner.  
"Consider it done." **Melodramatic freak.**  
She drew her knife, and glanced over at the decoy, lying helplessly on the floor, looking up at her.  
**I almost feel bad for him, confused, helpless, and very much aware of the tactical clusterfuck he just woke up to. I'll be nice and let you off easy.**  
She reached down and picked up the doctor's gun, before pointing it at his head. He looked up at her with a mix of curiosity, anticipation, and frustration. But he wasn't scared, just...accepting.  
**A soldier, perhaps? Well I'm going to give you a soldiers death, since I'm feeling...**  
Big Boss himself crashed into her, his arms locking into place around her throat and squeezing. Already she was seeing stars, even though his limbs were definitely weaker after his coma.  
**Stupid, stupid, stupid, holy....shit....so...strong, even after... 9 years?**  
She toppled sideways into a medicine cart, and it knocked him loose for a second, but he quickly resumed his grip, crushing her windpipe. Quiet elbowed him in the ribs, hoping that it would dislodge him. It didn't, but it disrupted his stance just enough to allow her to through him over her soldier and next to the decoy.  
**Holy...shit. You're strong, and dead for that.**  
She drew her knife, and cautiously approached. The legendary mercenary started grabbing the various metal trays and started throwing them at her.  
**Are  
** *thud*  
you  
*thud*  
fucking serious?  
He next threw a bottle, which shattered and doused her with its contents. She prepared to throw her knife, gritting her teeth.  
**My turn.**  
The knife hit his shoulder and lodged firmly into it. He grunted and doubled up in pain as his arm temporary quit working. The decoy was looking at the gun which was dropped nearly at his feet.  
**I'm not done with you yet, soldier.**  
Confidently walking over, she stepped on the Boss's hand to keep him down and grabbed the decoy, and easily lifted him up. He meekly struggled, all while simply looking into her eyes, realizing that this time it was over.  
**Sssh. Just go to sleep, your battles are over soldier.**  
He was still struggling, even gaining some strength. Quiet slammed him onto his bed for more leverage.  
**They picked you well, but your fight is over.**  
His arms went limp, and he was on the verge of death. Just then, something moved behind her.  
**Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...FIRE!**  
She was on fire. her uniform was engulfed before she knew it. In a blind panic Quiet ran while desperately trying to put the fire out.  
**Roll, Roll, Roll, fuck it! Kill the motherfucker.**  
Desperately crawling at this point, she tried to make her way towards the boss himself, gritting her teeth through the pain. The mercenary was out of options, he would die in her fiery, spiteful, embrace. He grabbed something from under him.  
**Is that...?**  
As he threw it Quiet saw liquid slosh in the red bottle.  
**Son of a...**  
The Fire was all consuming, all Quiet could remember was pain, then air, then blackness


	2. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quiet awakens to find herself with a whole new set of challenges ahead, and new ways to deal with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for any and all advice, please feel free to give feedback, I'm new. Hopefully this doesn't suck but if it does, let me know, I aim to improve.

Quiet awoke in a panic. She tried to get up, but found she was suspended from the ceiling, her feet chained to the floor, leaving her hanging. Instincts surfaced, and she took in her surroundings. The room was clean, and the white walls were spotless. Various medical devices beeped idly, and two guards stood at the door.  
**A medical facility? Then why am I hanging like a captive? Why Guards?**  
She looked at the guards more closely. They had XOF patches on their uniforms, and wore masks that covered their entire faces. They held assault rifles, and were studying her.  
**Cipher? Why am I chained?**  
One grabbed the radio on his shoulder. "This is ghost-4 to ghost 1. The Butterfly is awake."  
She recognized that voice, and his callsign. Jeremy Renolds, her team's medic.  
**My unit? Why haven't they cut me down? And who is ghost-1? Why butterfly? So many questions...**  
She tried to speak, to order her men to release her. Her mouth was gagged. She grunted and started to thrash against her restraints. She could feel the ceiling creak slightly as she tugged her arms forward.  
**What the...?**  
She was able to leverage herself forward, and see that she was barely wearing anything. Her skin wasn't even the slightest bit charred, and no limbs were missing.  
**fuck?**  
Her men...no, her captors leveled their rifles at her. Quiet froze.  
The other guard lowered his rifle slightly. "Stop struggling. A medical team is on its way."  
She pointedly grunted.  
Jeremy shook his head. "Negative. You aren't allowed to speak. Don't know why, but the doctors will explain."  
**I'm not allowed to speak? What the fuck is going on?**  
The door opened a few minutes later, and 5 guards entered, and surrounded her. A few doctors entered. They began systematically checking the monitors, their gloved hands moving with absolute precision. Then another entered.  
Skull face surveyed the room with a mixture of amusement and contempt. Bile rose in the throat of Quiet, she had never liked her XO, but in this position her revulsion grew to an unparalleled level. His pale and withered face appraised her, like one would examine a gun before purchase.  
"Hello ghost-1. Glad to see you are recovering...decently."  
Quiet thrashed against her restraints again, and 7 guns were all trained on her. She stopped.  
"Now now, behave. I'm here to explain the...unique situation you have found yourself in." He removed his had, exposing more of his disgusting visage.  
"You had suffered burns across 80% of your body. You fell over 3 stories into a creek, the only thing that saved your life. One of our clean-up crews found you down-river 2 miles. You had to be taken to secure location. Once your condition was evaluated, it was determined that the only way to save your life was to have you undergo experimental treatment. Our foremost....expert in this field oversaw the procedure. It kept you alive, with some very peculiar side-effects. Some good, some bad, all extraordinary."  
**So how big is the debt I'm going to be forced to repay, because I doubt you did this out of the kindness of your heart, if you have one.**  
"Your lungs and digestive tract were burned beyond repair. We introduced a parasite to your system. Commonly called "The one that covers". It allows you to live by feeding itself, and you, via photosynthesis. This removes the need to breathe and eat, and it allows you to "drink" through your skin. Naturally, this means you must expose as much skin as possible."  
**I'm a fucking PLANT? A half nude PLANT? You mother...**  
She screeched into the gag, which elicited a chuckle from Skull Face.  
"Its not all bad. Apparently you have extreme reflexes, physical abilities, camouflage, and the ability to dematerialize."  
Quiet raised an eyebrow.  
"I know it sounds, and is, ridiculous. The running theory of the camouflage is that the parasites absorb light and pass it from parasite to parasite until it reaches the other end, and then reflects it back out, so that it never hits you, and to an observer they only see what was in front of you. As for dematerialization... well the amount of mental breakdowns in the research team is currently at 56. I personally don't believe it. So how about a little test? If you can dematerialize out of your bonds, I'll give you the location of the person that put you here. Big boss. If not, well there's always another high value target else-where."  
He turned to leave.  
"Oh, and before I forget," he turned back, "Your punishment. You have another parasite inside you. Its in your vocal chords, and it will kill you if you speak english. It will also kill anyone else nearby that becomes infected and speaks english."  
As he left Quiet screeched into her gag again.  
**This is bullshit, it has to be. Some psychological test, some extreme mental stress test. There is no way that I'm a superhuman plant.**  
Quiet tried to breathe through her nose, but couldn't.  
**Okay, that's just a coincidence.**  
She silently bade herself to camouflage. She felt something happening, an odd ethereal sensation slid over her skin. The guards all raised their guns and started fidgeting.  
**They're just...acting. There is no way I'm invisible to them.**  
She could see herself just fine, a little bit paler, but still she was visible.  
**Okay, for the final test.**  
She yanked on the restraint without trying anything. It held and cut into her palm.  
**Now I'll know for sure.**  
She felt ridiculous, but she ordered herself to dematerialize. Quiet yanked her hand, and it passed out of her bonds without resistance.  
**Well son of a...**  
"Ghost 1, she's out! Please advise!"  
Quiet instantly made a decision.  
**You want to turn me into a weapon, mission succeeded. Next time, turn the safety on.**  
She cloaked, then yanked her other limbs out effortlessly, the sensation of dematerialization felt weird, like pins and needles.  
The guards all started firing, however they weren't using lethal rounds.  
**Trying to capture me alive? We'll see how that works.**  
She kicked one in the knee, and felt the bones break. He screamed and toppled over, while Quiet turned and grabbed the next guard closest to her, spinning him and slamming him onto the ground. She could hear his ribs break. She quickly dispatch the rest, almost bored.  
**Alright, now I have to get out of here.**  
She ran through the wall to the left, feeling exhilarated. This room was some type of server farm, with several technicians repairing a damaged server. The rest of the room was filled with rows of data terminals. One was talking to the other two.  
"We'll have to purge the data-banks to eliminate the virus."  
"We could try and quarantine the infected server, then scan the rest of the network."  
"It's too risky, we could lose classified data. If there was any risk of a network wide data theft, we'd have to burn everything here."  
"The ambassador would have our heads. Better purge everything here while we have the virus contained."  
**Ambassador? I'm at an embassy, most likely in Cyprus. Cipher's closest safehouse.**  
Quiet slipped into the row of data banks behind the repair team. A guard entered the room, wearing the fatigues of a U.S security personnel.  
"You three. With me, we are entering lockdown."  
One of the technicians turned, his green eyes wide, "What's going on?"  
"I don't know. But we have to move, now!"  
As the four ran out of the room, Quiet tried to smile. The gag stopped her.  
**Oh for fucks sake.**  
She ripped the gag out before turning to the infected server. It was dark, and disconnected from the chain. She idly wondered how much data on here would be related to the recent Cipher operation. Troops deployments, satellite feeds, communication logs, visitor logs, all could trace something back to Cipher. Hopefully they hadn't been purged yet.  
**Here goes nothing. I hope this hurts you as much as I want it to, Skull Face.**  
Quiet picked up the disconnected cable and plugged it back into the server next to it. Not staying to see if it worked, Quiet cloaked and walked through the next wall. This room was a conference room. Its oak table was empty save for a few public opinion charts and a lighter. Quiet snagged the lighter before looking at the charts.  
**Useless.**  
She stepped into the hallway, where three security personnel were patrolling, covering all angles. Quiet walked right up to the first one, who didn't even blink as she stared at him. She kicked him in the chest, and he flew backwards, losing his grip on his gun. She grabbed each of their other guard's throats with her hands and started squeezing. They thrashed wildly for a few seconds before falling unconscious.  
**I could get used to this.**  
Quiet decloaked and grabbed one of their combat knifes and a pistol. The guard she had kicked was slowly getting up.  
"Control, intruder in lower level...send backup."  
**Shit.**  
Quiet ran, ignoring everything as she searched for a way up.  
**Lower level, that means I need to go up. The stairways will be covered. I need a way up. Well, here goes nothing.**  
Quiet jumped and willed herself to dematerialize. She flew at least two stories upward. The hallway she was in was empty. Experimenting, she stopped and tried to listen closely.  
"What the hell is going on here?" A voice she didn't recognize demanded from the floor above.  
"Ambassador, calm down. I assure my men have the situation under control," Another unfamiliar voice intoned, "the intruder will be caught and brought in for interrogation."  
"I will not calm down! I'm getting reports of an invisible intruder rampaging through the embassy, right after a British hospital goes up in flames with reported sightings of US military personnel on the scene? Do you know the kind of international blowback is happening? And on top of THAT, A FLAMING WHALE appears in the sky? What in God's name is happening?"  
"You should listen to your security chief ambassador," Quiet's blood ran cold. "The intruder will brought before you shortly. My men will make sure of it. Then we'll be out of your hair before you know it."  
"You aren't helping the situation. Your strike team got sloppy, and now I have an international incident to deal with. I want you in my sight at all times while you are staying in my embassy."  
"I'm afraid that isn't possible. I have been called in to deal with a precarious situation with some rebel guerrillas."  
"Fine, I have enough headaches to deal with. You know where the helipad is."  
**He should be alone for a few minutes, enough time to try and get some answers.**  
Quiet slipped down along the hall to where she heard the sounds, and cloaked just as the door opened. Skull face walked out, alone. He appeared un-alarmed despite the embassy wide lock-down, which apparently didn't apply to him. He walked up a floor and into a corner office, where a dark oak desk sat, filled with papers and intelligence reports. A map sat on the far wall, and there was a window overlooking the surrounding city. Skull face started to gather up a few reports, but Quiet de-cloaked in-front of him.  
He didn't seem surprised when he looked up. "Well done. I suppose you want..." He was cut off as her hand grabbed his throat and started to crush his wind-pipe.  
**How...dare you?! Turn me into some freak and try and use me as some kind of personal bio-weapon?**  
"Now I wouldn't....do...that. I know....where....Big Boss....is" He pathetically croaked out.  
Quiet snarled and eased her grip slightly. His rasping breaths were the only sound for a while as with her other hand she started shuffling through his intel reports.  
"There's nothing there my dar..gah." She started to crush his windpipe again.  
**I am not your anything.**  
Quiet turned and forced him up against the map on the far wall, and put the combat knife against his throat.  
"I...could...lie." He managed.  
**Don't speak, your voice disgusts me.**  
She slammed him into the map and then pointed at it in a question. Skull face pointed towards China.  
"He is hiding in Taiwan.." He croaked.  
Quiet crushed his throat even more before moving his finger to Afghanistan.  
"H.H.how did you...find out?"  
**I'm not as stupid as you think.**  
She held up the incident report where one Mr. Miller had been broken out of custody, someone with ties to the Boss himself.  
**I should kill you. I will kill you.**  
Two cipher agents slammed the door open, and opened fire. Bullets flew past her, and one hit her upper torso before she could dematerialize. She dropped skull-face and backpedalled.  
**Damnit!**  
Skull face pressed a button, and the ceiling sprayed salt-water. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Screaming, she jumped out the window. The fall was three stories, yet it felt like nothing. She didn't stop, just ran. The building flew past her, and she reached speeds she didn't think it was possible to run at. Any obstacle in her path she just dematerialized through.  
**He will surround himself with so much security as to be untouchable. That leaves only Big Boss, and I'll have to hunt him in Afghanistan. Fuck, at least there will be sunlight. But that's a hell of a walk, unless I can find a better way.**

Quiet had been waiting at the airport for several weeks. Waiting for the next UN supply chopper to depart for Afghanistan, or somewhere close by. During that time she had managed to scrounge up a combat harness and a holster off one of the security guards for a weapons convoy. The waiting was getting to her though.  
**Maybe I should try to find a boat...**  
"Hey! We have another supply plane coming in to pick up the latest cargo. It should be here in 8 hours."  
"The rations? Where would that be headed?"  
"Looks like Afghanistan on the flight roster."  
**Well isn't this my lucky day.**  
"Dude it doesn't matter just shut up and start moving boxes so we can load it faster."  
"It'll be here in 8 hours, we have time."  
"There's alot of cargo to move jackass. So shut your mouth and move your feet."  
**With room for one more...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading! I wanted to explore the idea of a rogue Quiet, to make the Diamond Dog transition seem more logical. Expect more to come!


	3. The Duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quiet meets Big Boss, and neither hesitate to pull the trigger.

The ruins at Aabe Shipaf were rather calm, with a water source nearby and there were many vantage points for Quiet to carry out her goal. She was currently sun-bathing, gathering nutrients for the coming night-fall, where she would strike.  
**4 Soviet officers dead, hopefully that will draw him out to investigate. With any luck he will do it soon, I'm getting bored.**  
Quiet began to clean her rifle. Taken from a soviet armory nearby, it was a standard issue model, with sub-standard firing speed and a slow bolt action.  
**No wonder the grunts bitch so much about their kit, might as well be a paintball gun.**  
Finished, Quiet began to doze, passing time until she would hunt again.

A horse neighed as a rider approached. Quiet shot up, and quickly grabbed her rifle, and sighted in towards the noise.  
**It was around 120...no 110 meters away. A horse, so who is the rider? Please let it be him...**  
Her night vision let her zero in as she waited patiently for the rider to appear. The soft click of hooves were growing closer. Soon the horse and rider appear, moving at a walk. Quiet's eyes widened.  
**You! Son of a bitch. Time to send a message to the real deal, I'm coming for him.**  
Quiet fired a shot at the decoy aiming at his left leg in the hopes to immobilize him, she wanted to look into his as she personally ended his life. A sniper bullet was to impersonal for the man, and his phantom, that had ruined her life. The sound echoed throughout the canyon, and the bullet hit him in the thigh, even as he threw himself off the saddle.  
**Damn! That was satisfying, now to finish him off.**  
Quiet scanned the floor near where the horse had been, hoping to land a round in his arm to prevent him from using the rifle he was holding effectively. She sat there for several minutes, watching for anything that could be her man. Unfortunately his black suit blended in with the landscape fairly well, even for her increased vision it took an extra second, and sometimes that was enough. Quiet would catch glimpses as he jumped into cover or rolled off a ledge, all while increasingly drawing closer to her.  
**Just let me end this, I'm in no mood to play cat and mouse.**  
Quiet was about to jump to another vantage point when a sound came from a rock 20 meters away. Just as she was focusing on it, something grabbed her from behind and slammed her into the floor with such force that she was winded and any normal man would have been dazed for minutes to come.  
**God damnit, you share his strength too. Well you can share his grave too, a gift from the Soviet armory.**  
Quiet kicked him in the knee joint of the leg she shot, which he had wrapped with the fabric of the sneaking suit's leg. He fell to one knee as she dropped a grenade and jumped away to get a good look at his mangled carcass.  
Taking up a new sniping point, Quiet focused in on where her vantage point had been, and noticed it was still intact. The decoy had kicked it off the platform and dived away, judging from the lack of blood and charred bone lying nearby. Quiet reloaded her rifle, and started scanning the ruins nearby.  
**This decoy is a snake, slithering around until he can strike. So I'll have to cut off his head. No more warning shots, I'll have to shoot to kill, he's dangerous.**  
Quiet caught sight of him as he left cover once, and smiled. The round hit him in the shoulder, dropping him to the floor. He grunted in suprise and pain, a sound that was music over the silence of the ruins. Quiet began to hum. Before she could re-chamber another round, he had dove behind cover.  
Apparently he was done playing hide and seek, as soon a drone screamed by over-head, dropping bombs across the ruins. A greenish gas covered the area where Quiet was sniping from.  
**Damnit, a carpet bomb! But why gas?**  
Quiet began to feel sleepy, and could barely lift her limbs. Summoning all of her strength, she jumped and started to run. Her legs failed her in the middle of the ruins, where she collapsed, unable to move and barely conscious. The rocks dug into her back, and Quiet tried to focus on the pain to stay conscious.  
**Ugh....I...need...to...what?**  
She slowly faded back into a semi alert state, her mind still lethargic and her body unresponsive. Quiet could hear footsteps growing closer, scraping on the stones, the sound bringing her further back to reality. She tried to lift an arm, but the sleeping gas mixed with the concussion made it feel as if the arm was underneath a mountain.  
**I have to...before he...**  
Two different voices dimly buzzed in her ear as the phantom drew his pistol. She could hear the sound as the hammer was pulled back.  
**This...is where...I die. Alone...forgotten...helpless.**  
She tried to scream, to speak, to do anything to stop from being so useless as her worst enemy's puppet took her life.  
**I wish you...killed me, given me...a death on the battlefield, rather then...this...execution.**  
The voices grew more heated, and the phantom began to put his pistol away.  
**Of..course. Time to...savor the victory. Go...to...hell.**  
With all the strength she could muster, Quiet grabbed her pistol, and shakily brought it to her neck. Her eyes flared with a burst of clarity as she pressed it into her throat, and tried to pull the trigger. Two large hands clamped onto the gun, prying it away from her neck while also turning on the safety. The trigger held as she weakly grunted.  
**No! Damnit! Damn you...couldn't even give me...this.**  
She collapsed once more, accepting the inevitable. She had heard stories, some from Cipher's less savory soldiers, bragging about the deeds in the barracks. Quiet had despised them, and made sure her unit kept its discipline on the battlefield. Her lieutenant was the only one who ever tried it, and she broke every bone she could before sending him off for surgery, without a sedative. He had fallen in line, and nobody else dared try it.  
**I suppose...I should be honored...the "legend himself" is doing this, but...I see now that...all Big Boss is is a lie, a shadow...hiding behind his...shadows.**  
The phantom unloaded her pistol, and stuck it into his fatigues. Quiet put all her pathetic remaining energy into trying to punch him and knock him out. All she could manage were feeble slaps that he quickly blocked. Cold hand-cuffs soon clicked onto her wrists, digging into her skin.  
**So...that's what you're into, you disgusting...prick.**  
He grabbed her, but instead of attempting what Quiet was sure he would, he lifted her up and over his shoulder, carrying her. Quiet slumped into his body, too weak to call on her powers and fight back. She was relieved, and terrified.  
**Bringing me back? As a prisoner, a trophy, or a source of information? Most likely I'll be used as a morale boost, if the stories the soviets tell are true. Why have one go when the fun can last all fucking month?**  
One voice, smooth yet also rough, like a cat's barbed tongue was saying something to her captor. Another one, filled with hate and bile, was arguing back.  
**His lieutenants. Looks like I'm a hot topic.**  
A helicopter landed in the ruins, and the Phantom boarded, rolling her onto the floor before boarding himself. Quiet felt him grab her, before placing her on what felt like seats underneath her, although she wasn't completely sure. What did came next surprised her. The phantom pulled a coat over her body before turning to sit down.  
Quiet couldn't breathe, and the panic filled Adrenaline rush was enough to wake her up enough to let her get into a crouch. He spun around just in time to see her slip out of the handcuffs, and his eyes went wide in surprise. Quiet threw the coat at him, before throwing open the door and cloaking herself.  
**I do want to see your base...but on my terms, as I watch it burn with you and your better half inside it.**  
Quiet tucked herself between the back of the pilot's seat and the row of passenger seats. The phantom looked around, and determining that she wasn't in the chopper, shut the door.  
"Slipped the line, huh?" The cat-lieutenant asked, "Shame...she's one of a kind."  
**I don't like you, and I'll enjoy cutting that tongue of yours out at 1000 meters with a bullet.**  
"Fine by me, we don't need her type." The other voice commented, "Boss, we need to talk, everything else can wait."  
The phantom just sighed and sat back down in his chair, and pulled out some strange device. He began to flick through reports and issued orders via the device. Quiet understood most of it, her enhanced eyes allowing her to see what he was doing, even if it was inverted. He ordered several new facilities built, and also requested several new cardboard boxes built.  
**Cardboard boxes? What?**  
Afterwards he leaned back and closed his eyes, and began to doze. His chiseled face softened ever so slightly.  
**I could knock you out and force the pilot to return home, but what then? I have no idea what I'm walking into and with no weapons. I guess you can sleep soundly for now, you snake.**  
Quiet eyed his rifle, which hanging from straps on the ceiling. If she could have sighed, she would have. Instead she decided to take a nap, and recover some of the energy that fight had taken out of her. 

The phantom woke before she did, and soon found himself lost in thought by the time she woke up. He just sat there, as if he was remembering something painful. Quiet idly wondered what it was that caused him to have such a haunted expression.  
**Perhaps its linked to the ugly horn sticking out of his head.**  
An alarm started blaring, and for a second Quiet thought she had been discovered, and froze. The phantom rushed forward and started to confer with his pilot, who was listening to intel reports from somewhere.  
"Confirmed, one bogey on our six, steady at point four miles," The pilot reported, "It's tailing us."  
**Skull Face. You can never make my life easy can you, you bleached asshole.**  
"Don't lead it back to Mother Base." The angry adviser ordered  
**Mother Base, that must be their base of operations. A quaint name for a group of pathetic rag-tag mercenaries.**  
"Roger, we'll shake it off." The pilot said as he banked to the right.  
The jet flew past them, firing at them as it passed, before banking for another turn. The Phantom headed for the door, and slid it open. He watched as the jet fired a missile.  
"Incoming." The pilot reported as he deployed flares.  
**The phantom's men keep their discipline at least, but this chopper can't take down a jet like that.**  
The missile diverted and streaked into the ocean below them as the jet flew past and banked for another turn and fired a missile as it turned back.  
"Another one," The pilot reported as he deployed flares. The missile held its course.  
"Shit, its an LGM, hold on!" The pilot said with a slightly increased alarm level in his voice.  
The phantom opened the other door and tried to grab onto the mini-gun, but the evasive maneuvers made it impossible for him to grab the gun in-time.  
**Fuck it, its either help him or die in salt water. You're lucky we're over an ocean, puppet.**  
Quiet grabbed the mini-gun and opened fire on the missile, using her advanced skills and abilities to easily pick it out of the sky, decloaking as she did so. The jet screamed past, and the phantom looked at her calmly, but unable to hide his surprise at the fact she was still in the chopper. He quickly nudged her off of the mini-gun, and she went and grabbed his rifle from where it had fallen from its straps.  
**Now this is my type of rifle. Shame I can't use it to put a bullet in your head yet.**  
Quiet crouched next to the gun and readied the rifle, waiting for her target to scream past again. The phantom fired as the jet took evasive maneuvers, slowing it down as to make it an easy target for Quiet's rifle. She sighted in as it grew closer, instinctively using her parasites to help her line up the shot and take in all factors.  
**Wind resistance, movement, spin, bullet height loss, got it. You're mine.**  
Quiet fired once, and the jet stopped its advanced maneuvers, and lifelessly flew below them, the bullet through the cockpit clearly visible from where they stood. Quiet sat back down, and unloaded the rifle before passing it to the phantom, who was warily watching her from his seat.  
**Now that you know I'm here, I doubt I can take you by surprise.**  
She had heard stories of what he could do in hand-to-hand combat, and she didn't want to test those tales just yet. The phantom pointedly looked at her hand, and Quiet sighed before sliding it back into her handcuffs.  
**If it will help you sleep at night, fine. It's not like I can go anywhere now anyways.**  
The rest of the trip was passed in silence, which seemed to suit them both fine. As they neared the base, Quiet was surprised. She had not expected a water-base, and let alone one so huge.  
**It's huge! There's at least 20 platforms, all well constructed and patrolled.**  
Two helicopters appeared on either side, their gunners pointing their rifles at the phantom and herself. As Quiet got up to take a closer look, he stepped in-between the gunner and herself.  
**What? He's...protecting me? Or is he protecting his trophy?**  
Confused, Quiet returned to her seat. Gunmen at each helipad prevented their landing, directing them to a pad where a squad of commandos in black suits waited, along with what looked like a cowboy and a man without a leg, or arm. The man without an arm called out to the phantom.  
"No way she's setting foot on this base."  
**So he's the angry one. He's dangerous, and I'll make sure to be extra careful around him. That must make the cowboy the cat, what a joke.**  
The phantom again made a calming gesture in her direction, to which Quiet wordlessly headed, and sat down.  
"Boss! She's with Cipher!" He shouted  
That certainly got Quiet's attention.  
**I am not with Cipher, and I'll be happy to prove that by making sure you and Skull Face share a grave. I really don't like you, you arrogant cripple.**  
The phantom sat down as the prepared to land, and Quiet decided to test the mercenaries mettle. She walked over to the edge, and looked at the phantom. They made eye-contact for a moment, and Quiet held it.  
**I don't need you. I don't want your superficial protection in some good-merc, mean merc routine.**  
She jumped, and cloaked in mid air, while also slipping out of her cuffs once more. The men below her held steady, but she could hear their heart-beats increase in surprise and fear. She landed with a loud and dramatic slam. They all turned, and she decloaked to throw the cuffs at her feet and stare them down in a challenge.  
**You junkyard scavengers are outclassed, and I'll be happy to demonstrate that.**  
They moved to surround her, but Quiet cloaked and moved away, leaving them confused. It was the cat who took the lead.  
"Thermals!" He called out, and several soldiers slid googles over their eyes and began searching for her.  
**A quick thinker, perhaps there's more to this lone ranger than meets the eye.**  
Quiet froze where she was, suddenly curious as the soldiers fanned out and quickly located her. They had reacted fast and kept their cool once again. She started humming as they encircled her again and raised their weapons. Quiet de-cloaked. The rest of the soldiers moved to surround her.  
"Seize her!" The cat called out  
**Whatever you may think, I will not be your plaything, cat.**  
"Fire!" the other called out, and the men hesitated.  
**This one is by-the-book, and thus is very predictable.**  
"Miller!" The cat called out as he lowered a soldier's weapon  
**Miller? So that's his name.**  
"She saved the boss." The cat argued.  
"She was saving herself." Miller countered.  
**You're both right, but as long as it keeps the soldiers from firing, keep bickering.**  
"Fire!" He ordered, while shoving the soldier's arm, who raised his gun again.  
"Put her in the cell." The phantom called out as he entered the circle, lowering his men's weapons.  
"Boss?" Miller asked, looking confused and hurt.  
**Did the master kick his loyal lapdog? Poor you.**  
Quiet looked at them all in silent contempt, wondering how they could let such an obvious threat live.  
**I'm not complaining though, it makes my job easier, sleep well, some of you won't wake up again.**  
"Keep an eye on her." He ordered as he stood next to her.  
"Right, take her away." The cat commanded in his gravel voice of silk.  
**I'll admit one thing, that voice is one I could listen to for hours.**  
The soldiers gestured with their rifles, but Quiet hesitated, and didn't know why.  
"What are you waiting for? Move!" The cowboy said more forcefully.  
The phantom put his hand on her soldier, and Quiet looked over in surprise at him. He looked at her and gave her a reassuring look.  
**It almost feels genuine, is it?**  
Quiet started walking, and guards took up flanking positions around her, each staring straight ahead with a business face. This was a welcome change from the normal unabashed stares she had received from the soviet soldiers that had been lucky enough to see her and live.  
"Boss, you are going to regret this." Miller warned the phantom  
**You have no idea how right you are, Miller.**  
But a seed of doubt wiggled in Quiet mind, would he?  
"That woman..." Miller began  
"I know," The phantom cut him off, "she knows our location. Either way, one of these days we're going to have to kill her. But now is not the time. When the time comes, I'll pull the trigger."  
Quiet smiled slightly as she heard that.  
**Good, now I know where I stand. I'm an asset, a prisoner for information. That means that hopefully I won't have to worry about the soldiers, at least for now.**  
Quiet still reflected on the warmth and kindness he had shown her.  
**It was a trick, it had to be.**  
Still, she had a lot to think about when she finally got to her cell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! More to come, although I won't follow a fixed schedule, expect content fairly regularly. Any and all feedback is welcome!


	4. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The issue of Quiet comes to a head when Kaz takes a stand.

Quiet lay in her cot, idly pondering her situation, and her cell. Her captors had provided her with a cot, shower, toilet, and not much else. A giant hole in the ceiling also gave her plenty of sunlight, and robbed her of any privacy as the guards patrolling above her could look in at any moment.  
**Not like I should be complaining, I don't have to shit in front of these mongrels.**  
One of the guards patrolling above spit into her cell as he walked past.  
"Fucking freak." He muttered when he thought he was out of earshot.  
Quiet closed her eyes and sighed. This bullshit was nothing new, and she didn't mind much.  
**I'll watch and wait, and then I'll put you down like the dogs you are.**  
She heard a few more boots walking towards her cell, and idly decided to listen in.  
"Hey." One of her assigned guards called out casually.  
"Hey, what's up?" A new voice called out.  
"Go around, this area's off limits, XO's orders."  
"Really? What for? What would he need it for, he's got the helicopter plus quarters on the command deck." Another newcomer asked in Russian.  
"Dumbass, Commander Miller is the XO. The Boss is always just The Boss. Lucky you didn't make that mistake in his hearing. I hear latrine duty is hell, and I doubt you'd want to find out."  
"Still, why the fuck would he need it? He can barely walk, and barely leaves his office unless its to bitch at the drill sergeants."  
"Not for him, the bitch is down there." Another one of her guards joined them in the conversation.  
"The bitch? Did D-dog get a mate? That dog scares me shitless, especially when Ocelot has him hunt down random soldiers on base."  
**D-dog? They have attack dogs, and apparently the alpha is some sort of fucking mascot. Figures, since it seems everything here is dog this and dog that. Wonder if I'll be renamed dogmeat.**  
"No, the Boss caught Tixij, right now the whore is sleeping in that hole." The Russian guard explained.  
Two of the russian newcomers audibly gasped, before speaking in much softer voices.  
"The Boss caught Tixij? And she is HERE? What the fuck was she thinking."  
"Of course the Boss could take her down, but why didn't he kill her? She's a demon of some kind."  
"Yeah, the bitch killed two of my friends a few weeks back. Makes me want to drop a grenade on her ass while she's where I can see her. That freak isn't human."  
"We've all fought on opposite sides, but we were all brought here together and set aside our differences. Why wasn't she given the same option?"  
**Because even the Phantom could crush you all without thinking, and you all follow him like loyal puppets as he uses you, just as the real Boss uses him. I know what he is, and I won't follow him.**  
"The XO is certain she's with Cipher, and is so stubborn that even the Boss relented."  
"Besides, we're all human, even the Boss. Tixij is something else, she's some kind of freak."  
"Still, if she is so good, why not befriend her? She could be useful, and at the very least it can't hurt to be respectful."  
"I'd rather throw her in the ocean. Every day I don't pull the trigger it feels like I'm betraying my friend's memories."  
"Yeah. It would be worth a few months in the latrines if that bitch had an accident. My grenade belt feels rather loose today."  
"Don't. The Boss wants her kept alive, so we keep her alive."  
"Yeah, just wish the Boss could see that that whore is going to be trouble."  
"Yeah, the way she dresses, its obvious she's trying to distract him. Hell, even the boys on other platforms are distracted."  
"Who wouldn't be? Half-naked amazon chick shows up out of the blue? Come on."  
"Ocelot's been keeping it under control though."  
One grabbed at something,  
"Affirmative. ETA 3 minutes," A newcomer replied, "Alright, see ya. We've got a new combat assignment, straight from the Boss himself."  
"Good luck. Check your corners."  
**So the Phantom isn't the only one running missions, of course, but he assigns missions? Who leads here, Miller or Him?**  
Quiet started humming, and closed her eyes once more. All she could really do while under such heavy watch was sleep and play nice. 

She woke up some time later to the sounds of two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs. A female soldier came down first, carrying a meal tray consisting of a beef sandwich, loaf of bread, and a bottle of water. She wore the same black suit the phantom and the guards around her cell all wore. The Cat, Ocelot, came down next. Quiet didn't like him, the way he held himself was just naturally offsetting, everything he did seemed to be designed to manipulate someone.  
**Hopefully they don't watch me during meal-times. That would be bad, giving them one of my strengths.**  
Quiet could see them getting rid of the sun roof after that just to weaken her. She put nothing past these men.  
"So, who are you liking the quarters so far?" Ocelot mildly asked, not directly mocking her.  
Quiet flipped him off, not caring for his elaborate mind games.  
Ocelot just laughed, "Well, regardless. I'm here to get you to break your silence. Why save the boss? What's your angle here?"

Quiet crossed her arms and leaned to one side, and just sat there staring at him for some time. Ocelot finally relented, and motioned for the female soldier to retrieve something. The soldier, who had so far been watching the proceedings with alert but neutral green eyes. She grabbed a pen and a pad from one of her pockets, and wordlessly slid them through the bars to Quiet, before returning to her spot, still holding the meal tray.  
**Is that meant to be some sort of bargaining chip? It won't work.**  
Quiet let the paper fall to the floor, and broke the pen in half before sliding both ends back towards Ocelot.  
"Don't want to talk, and either can't write, or don't want to. Why do you remain silent?" He started pacing around her cell, his spurs idly clicking. He grabbed one of his pistols, and spun it around with obvious skill. Quiet eyed the beast of a gun with a hint of respect and anticipation.  
**That thing could do some real damage, and by the way Ocelot handles them, he could use them. Good thing is that a sniper shoots farther than a pistol.**  
It was another minute before he abruptly stopped, and turned to face her again.  
"Well, if you won't answer our questions, there are other things we need from you."  
A shiver went up Quiet's spine.  
**Here it comes, the conquest the guards have all obviously been expecting.**  
Quiet tensed slightly, and her eyes hardened. Ocelot smiled dryly, her minuscule changes not escaping his notice. His guard had noticed, and had drawn a pistol. This pistol was different, smaller and more compact, with a manual reload.  
"Relax, the boys in the medical team are going to run some tests, basic stuff mostly, anatomy, respiratory tests, physical evaluations, blood work, MRI, general stuff. I can either have Thunder Llama over there tranq you with that pistol, or you can come over by your own volition. Which will it be?"  
**Medical tests? First I was Cipher's lab rat, now I'm some fucking med-school drop out's science fair project. I'll go along, if only because it will be easier, and it might help me gain their trust. Also what kind of name is motherfucking Thunder Llama? Christ, are my guards named Raining Caterpillar, Stormy Gopher, and Tempest Mouse?**  
Quiet interlaced her fingers behind her head and stepped through the bars towards the door. Thunder Llama lowered her pistol slightly before walking over and unlacing her fingers. Quiet looked over her shoulder questioningly, and raised an eyebrow.  
**Do you want me to break out?**  
Thunder Llama grinned something more akin to a wolf than a Llama before walking up out of the hole. Quiet followed, glancing over her shoulder to find Ocelot placing the meal tray onto her cot.  
On deck 2 full squads of soldiers sat waiting for her in combat fatigues. They all held assault rifles and had thermals equipped. Standing among them was Miller, standing tall on his cane, and staring with unbridled hatred at her.  
**Perhaps he's about to defy orders, and execute me? From that look in his eyes, I wouldn't put it past him.**  
Thunder Llama walked up and saluted the cripple, standing at brisk attention.  
"Sir!" She said, her voice calm and level. Quiet found it soothing.  
"Soldier, why the hell are you letting that thing walk around base? I should have you locked in the brig, or have you forgotten that Diamond Dogs follow orders?"  
Thunder Llama's face remained perfectly still, but the fist at her side clenched ever so slightly.  
**So Miller has grinded other's gears too. I'm half surprised that his cane hasn't gone missing, or his other leg for that matter.**  
Ocelot walked up out of the pit, his face showing the slightest traces of annoyance.  
"Miller! We are running some tests on platform B, who knows what we could find?"  
"You're trying to run tests on that freak? It's bad enough that Cipher bitch gets to lounge around like this is some hotel pool, distracting the men and wasting precious resources, but now this?"  
**I could kill you in 2 seconds, and in another 5 at least 10 of these men would be dead. I can't, won't, be tied to HIM. It was HIS rivalry and HIS schemes that sent me to your holy idol. I want cipher dead more than you do.**  
Quiet's eyes flared, and she suddenly calmed, entered that trance that overtook her at times. Everything slowed to a crawl, each individual breath of each soldier was like a boom in her ears. The sound of sweat on 4 of their foreheads was like a cascading waterfall. The breeze that gently blew across the deck was like a hurricane of sound. Quiet could do it then, she knew. She could kill them all before they landed a hit. Miller's voice snapped her out of it.  
"And you bitch, might be the Boss's latest stray, but that means shit to me. If you even give me a hint of a reason to put you down, I will." He practically screamed at her  
**He's a man unhinged, broken by his pain and held together by his hatred.**  
"Miller..."  
"No! I don't care what any of you say, she is a threat, and she will be kept in that pit until the day the Boss decides to come to his senses and shoot the bitch!"  
"She is a prisoner and a valuable source of information..."  
"She is an assassin and a spy!"  
"She is a treasure trove of potential. If the medical team can get any idea of how her powers work..."  
"Absolutely not. The last thing Mother Base needs are more of these...things, running around."  
Thunder Llama stepped forward slightly,  
"Sir, if I may, the medical team could potentially use her biological healing aids to help treat our wounded."  
Miller rounded on Thunder Llama, and walked right up to her and looked her in the dead of her eyes. She held her ground, albeit shifting her weight backwards.  
"Soldier, that bitch is a threat to every single one of your brothers on this base. Would you place that freak above the lives of your fellow Diamond Dogs?" Each word was raw and filled with passion, and every soldier in ear shot had stopped to listen in. Even Quiet was interested now.  
**If she had a tail, it would be between her legs right now.**  
"No Sir...I wou..." She began  
"So why would you walk the ENEMY into a building filled with your injured brothers?" Miller slammed his cane into the deck to punctuate his point.  
"Sir, I was..." She began again, but again Miller cut her off.  
"You would do that with nothing but a tranq pistol as backup? Would you spare ANY threat to your brothers, your base, your BOSS?" Miller shouted into her face.  
"No sir." She replied  
Miller used his cane to slam the pistol out of her hand, and is slid across the deck and off the side of the platform. He summoned one of the soldiers forward, who ran over. Miller motioned with his cane, and Thunder Llama took his assault rifle.  
"Then you will not hesitate to end any and ALL threats. Am I clear soldier?" Miller clenched out, his flaming rage barely contained at this point.  
"Yes sir." Thunder Llama saluted.  
"Good. You will remember and reflect as you serve as an aid on the medical platform. I want you to see every wounded soldier and remember EXACTLY what is at stake here. I lost one family, I will not lose another, especially to this whore. Dismissed."  
Everyone was almost reeling from Miller unbridled raw emotion, painful and powerful at the same time, and Quiet allowed herself to be shoved back down-stairs and into her cell. Even Ocelot seemed to have conceded defeat on this one.  
**So that's the root of it. I'm the outcast, apart from the pack.**  
Quiet slid her food aside and went to sleep, suddenly exhausted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Any and all feedback is welcome. Busy week ahead, will post ASAP, don't panic. Wanted to explore the possibility of Kaz venting his issues with the Boss off base, so he wouldn't get slammed.

**Author's Note:**

> I have the next chapter in mind and will welcome any and all feedback! Thanks for reading.


End file.
